Hiya.

I'm just going to end up updating a day early every time at this rate.

Enjoy. ^_^

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Chapter Four.
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Naruto whooped for joy and ignored the glare Gaara was sending his way.

Sakura had already chosen her weapon but before she could even begin to fight Naruto in the metaphorical ring, Gaara grabbed her elbow roughly to stop her. When she tried to pull away, he spun her around to press her back against him. He ignored Naruto's complaints and the scowls of his siblings and whispered in Sakura's ear, "you can't win."

Flushed, she tried to ignore the heat of his body, and cleared her throat. "Why?"

Really, she wanted to know. Sakura knew he was right, that she couldn't beat a seasoned warrior, but she was curious as to why Gaara was bothering to tell her this. He'd not cared to warn her during their fight.

He didn't answer, staring at her expectedly. It infuriated her. And it no longer mattered why he bothered warning her. Sakura pulled away from him angrily. She wasn't trying to win, but to come right out and say that she had no chance? Jerk!

"Don't touch me."

He watched her step back into position, an inscrutable look on his face. She had to show him she could hold her own, and against someone who respected her desire to fight.

"Alright!" The blond yelled. "Let's do this!" He shifted into a battle stance and charged, not hiding his intentions.

Naruto wasn't teasing Sakura like Gaara had done. His style was direct and powerful, and he did it very well. But he was still holding back. Sakura grew angrier as they fought, thinking he was afraid to hurt her or something stupid like that. What was he playing at?

But as they traded blows and she started losing stamina, she realised Naruto was actually testing her; his skill was too high for her to be lasting against his attacks this long. She studied Naruto's moves as he came at her again, and it became evident quite quickly that they weren't designed to overwhelm, but to draw her to him; to figure out where her strengths and weaknesses were and push her to fight harder. To learn from every blow, every parry, and every time he knocked her down.

He was helping her.

Her anger vanished, replaced by a fierce determination that elicited a genuine grin from the blond.

She was going to lose.

But she was going to go down fighting.

When that final blow came and Sakura found herself flat on the ground, blood trickling down her arm, Naruto leaned over her.

"You done?"

"Yeah, thanks," she said, accepting his offered hand and let him help her to her feet.

Sakura remembered quite suddenly that they'd had an audience and spun around to applause. Temari and Kankuro both looked suitably impressed as they clapped, and she blushed under their appraisal.

But Gaara was stone faced as usual and she lost her smile, glaring at him. What the hell was his problem?

...

Naruto was the only person to ever beat Gaara in a fight. It was why they were friends, apparently, when the redhead shunned all other offers of friendship. This was also why Gaara was so sure Sakura couldn't beat him. As though telling her would stop her, but he'd taken the time to tell her without explaining. She didn't regret her impromptu fight with Naruto and the redhead's attitude about the whole thing it only made her angrier at him. How dare he try to downplay her skills before she'd even stepped into the ring?

She wondered idly if Gaara had ever stepped into the ring against his father.

As Naruto rattled on about the Fire techniques he'd used and how Gaara had been helpless against them, Sakura ignored Gaara's darkening aura nearby.

"You'll become my personal servant..."

She knew she owed him from their challenge, but that promise hadn't included restraining her desire to fight, nor that she had to even learn the ways of Wind; cursive, customs, manners, and other matters she didn't care about. His wording had been vague and open to interpretation and she was determined to push the envelope on what she could do.

Two could play at that game of linguistic acrobatics.

"Lord Gaara, Lord Kankuro, Lady Temari," a servant had entered and was bowing respectfully. "The King and Queen require your presence in the war room."

Sakura glanced up as Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari shared looks of concern and then made to leave. She caught Gaara's eyes and was surprised to see the softness in his expression. It was gone a moment later and he followed his siblings out, without looking back. She sighed.

"He's a teddy bear on the inside," Naruto said. "You just have to get past the grizzly on the outside, to find it."

She couldn't hold back the laugh.

"I'm glad we sparred," he continued. "I think you have so much potential."

She blushed. "Thank-you."

Naruto lowered his head to whisper and Sakura found herself leaning in to hear him better. "I can give you some pointers on kicking his arse."

"Yes, please."

Naruto laughed and threw an arm around her shoulders as she smiled, unable to keep the heat from her face.

When he calmed down and started packing away the weapons, Sakura sighed, fingering the hilt of the sword she'd used. Gaara wouldn't let her train, no matter what Naruto offered, she was sure of it. She was never going to be free of the excessively elaborate clothes and twittering tutor.

But where there was a will, there was away.

...

Two days passed from her spar with Naruto, and Sakura was beginning to think he lied about wanting to help her. Her tutor was back and bolder than ever, but Ino was finally getting a smile from the older woman by telling her stories from the Fire noble court. She seemed to delight in the backstabbing exploits of the enemy.

Sakura stared out the window as her tutor talked about healing salves in Wind and how they differed from Fire, her eyes on a cavalcade that was leaving the city. It bore Gaara's emblem and she sighed deeply, realising he was going to be gone a long while.

An unexpected sadness hit her, and she longed for something to distract her from the lady training. It came an hour later, in the form of a knock on her door, after the tutor had left. Ino scrambled to answer it for her.

"My name's Naruto, I'm here to see Sakura."

"Naruto?" Sakura rushed over to him. "I thought—"

"It's okay." He pushed his way into the room, gently. "I didn't forget my promise."

Ino closed the door. "You two know each other, I take it?"

Sakura introduced them.

"Uh…" Naruto looked uncertain.

Sakura had forgotten for a moment that Ino was a servant, and it was improper for any familiarity between them.

"Get over it," she said to Naruto. "You're fine with me, you can deal with Ino."

Ino smiled appreciatively at Sakura and Naruto rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "It's not that. I just wasn't sure how many people you wanted to know about our agreement."

"Oh." Sakura blushed. "Right, sorry. Naruto's going to teach me some fighting techniques," she told Ino.

Ino grinned. "So you can kick Gaara's arse?"

Naruto laughed. "You better believe it!"

There was another knock at the door and, forgetting (or ignoring) protocol, Naruto opened it quickly. The servant held out a set of clothes and he took it, said, "thanks" then closed the door.

"I had these prepared for you," he said, unfolding the clothes.

Sakura gasped. Much like the clothes she'd borrowed for their challenge, these were designed for comfort and fighting. They even had the Wind kanji for "fight" on the back of them.

"I couldn't get you anything personalised right now," he said. "But we can look into that later."

"Thank-you so much," she said, accepting them from him and then throwing her arms around the blond boy.

"Aw." He grinned, hugging her tightly. "You're welcome."

"I'm sorry," she pulled away, wiping at her eyes. "I'm just overwhelmed."

"Well I did promise," he said, giving her the thumbs up sign.

She slapped his arm playfully. "Days ago."

"Had to wait for Gaara to leave," Naruto said. "He, uh, wouldn't agree to this, so shh." He pressed a finger to his lips. "Let's surprise him when he returns in a month yeah?"

Sakura smiled. "Okay."

It was their little secret, for now. Frankly, she didn't care if Gaara didn't like that she was doing this, but she hoped he would change his mind when he returned. This would be so much better if he didn't argue the toss with her for no reason. But she had a lot of work to do to convince him to let her fight. He wasn't utilising her in any sort of personal servant way, so why not as a fighter?

"Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Where did Gaara go?"

"I can't tell you. It's top secret."

"You don't know," Ino guessed.

"Hey! I know!" He sighed. "Not the details, but I do know where he's going. I can't say, sorry Sakura."

"It's fine."

He watched her fiddle with the clothes he'd given her, nervously. "I know it's not my place to suggest this, but have you considered maybe… taking him to bed?"

"What?!" She flushed at that. "I…uh…"

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as Ino sniggered. "I mean, the sexual tension between you two is palpable. And if you two, you know, bump uglies, you might feel better. I don't know. Sex is always a good tension breaker. It definitely helps me," he added with a wink that made her blush harder.

"You two are oddly cute," Ino said wistfully and Sakura glared at her.

"I'm not saying you have to marry him," Naruto said. "Lord knows he's got his father on his back about find a proper wife." He shuddered.

"I don't want to know about that."

"Sorry. Just thought you two could get each other out of your systems. Think about it."

They went silent for a moment before the blond could handle it no longer. "Get dressed," he said, plopping down on her bed impatiently.

She nodded and headed into the bathroom.

"This is really nice of you," Ino said. "Mind if I tag along?"

"Sure!"

Sakura emerged a few minutes later and they made their way to the training grounds. Ino found an upturned log that had been turned into a stool and got comfortable. She was very interested in this, it seemed, her fingers clasping her maid's apron in anticipation.

"Let's do a rehash," Naruto suggested. "Quick spar to warm up."

Sakura agreed and chose the same sword she'd used last time, moving into position.

Naruto didn't go easy on her this time. She figured it was to show her just how much she had to learn. Her instincts were good, she just needed polished techniques. When she quickly found herself on the ground again, he was sheepish.

"Okay," he said, "let's start with the basics of chakra training."

If he was surprised that she knew what he was talking about, he didn't show it. Sakura had learned basic chakra training, but she was guessing Naruto's idea of basic was different to hers.

"The first part of your training is sensory," he said.

Naruto wanted her to be able to track his movements—to keep up with him visually. He ran her through a series of drills on how to sense chakra before stepping up to a high tier exercise. Steeling herself as he disappeared from right in front of her, Sakura closed her eyes, and tried to use her chakra to detect his. It kind of worked like echolocation and was apparently an instinctive thing you were either good or bad at. It was also extremely frustrating for her, trying to find him, but her chakra control had always given her an advantage in training. She relaxed her muscles and controlled her breathing. It didn't take her long to sense him, but she couldn't pinpoint his location.

Frustrated, Sakura opened her eyes and was surprised to find him right in front of her. He smirked and then moved again, making her groan out loud.

"You have it in you to do the same," Naruto said. "You're faster than you give yourself credit for. Faster than me if you practise enough."

"Really?"

"Yep."

She wondered why her training was starting here, though.

As though he knew her thoughts, Naruto said, "Gaara's techniques are unique. I overpowered him with brute strength and stamina, but you'll have to rely on speed and guile."

She nodded. "Okay, makes sense."

Naruto did his disappearing trick. Sakura closed her eyes and could immediately sense his chakra again. Everyone had chakra, but you needed someone to show you how to use it. She felt it move through her body, push and pull as she focused on it—she felt Naruto's bright chakra a moment before hearing his voice.

"I'm here."

She kept her eyes closed, turning toward his voice. He moved again.

"Here, Sakura-chan!"

Naruto kept this up, expelling chakra as he drew her attention vocally, so she could get used to how to sense him. How to pinpoint where he was coming from. She was getting the hang of it, but it was draining. They took a lunch break after Naruto remembered he'd had the kitchen prepare food for them before coming to get her for their training.

"I should get back to work before I get shot out of a cannon," Ino told them, only half serious, and Sakura hugged her good-bye before settling down on the grass, cross legged, to join Naruto.

His appetite was huge! The cooks must've been aware of this, and the food kept coming. Naruto started talking about his fiancé, explaining in detail how beautiful she was and how lucky he was to get to know someone so sweet and fiercely loyal.

"Hinata's always had a crush on me," he said, blushing. "I was slow to catch on, but she got the better of me eventually."

"What are you doing in Suna?" She asked, before biting into her rice sandwich.

"I'm getting married in six months," he said. "Just making rounds in all the old haunts. Came here to see Gaara but, I guess it's fine he had to take off." He burped.

Sakura pulled a face at him, deciding not to pick that apart. They finished their food—Naruto having eaten most of it—and slowly got to their feet.

"I feel so stuffed!" He smacked his stomach. "Good eating!"

"Such a pig."

Naruto and Sakura both turned at the sound of the voice. It wasn't familiar to her, but Naruto was immediately pointing at the other man, annoyed. "You're late, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Sensei?" Sakura looked between them for a moment, then turned her scrutiny towards this sensei. He was tall, lean, and slouching against the entrance to the training grounds. His most distinguishing feature was a patch over his left eye, and the bottom of his face was covered a half-mask. He cocked his head toward Sakura curiously.

"Who's your lovely friend, Naruto?"

"Ah." Naruto reluctantly let his tardiness go, for now. "This is Sakura. Sakura, this is my good for nothing perverted sensei."

"I'm touched by your reverence, Naruto. Really."

"You were worse than Jiraiya-sensei, and you know it."

Sakura giggled at them. "Are you a friend of Gaara's too Kakashi?"

At the same time Naruto said "yes," Kakashi said, "no."

"Eh, it's complicated," Kakashi said, when she looked confused. "Naruto insists all his friends are Gaara's friends too by default, but Gaara doesn't like me very much."

"Gaara's just grumpy by nature, I told you that already! Stop taking it personally, Kakashi-sensei! He's just like Sasuke."

"Who?" Sakura asked.

"No-one important." Kakashi cleared his throat. "So, what's going on here? A little training?"

"Oh yeah! I'm teaching Sakura-chan how to kick Gaara's arse!"

The silver haired man grinned—or at least Sakura was sure that's what he was doing under that mask.

"In that case, I'll help."

"Bug off, old man!"

"It's fine," Sakura said, making Naruto pout. "The different styles will help this go faster."

"Yeah… I guess."

"What has Naruto showed you so far?"

Naruto ran down their training so far and Kakashi nodded along. "Okay. Well, let's test what her chakra nature is, shall we?"

"We have a time limit," Naruto said. "Gaara's scheduled back in a month and we want to surprise him, okay?"

Kakashi nodded. "I promise this won't take long."

He pulled out a small, square shaped piece of paper and started to talk about chakra natures to Sakura; it sounded like a rehearsed sermon.

"Why do you have that?" Naruto asked, finally paying attention to the paper—he hadn't been listening to the chakra discussion.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Litmus Paper." He handed it to Sakura. "Pour your chakra into it."

She frowned down at it. "Okay." She concentrated for a moment before the paper crumbled and fell away in her hand.

"Interesting. Earth nature."

"Like Gaara." Naruto smirked and Sakura blushed.

"Gaara also has wind and lightning," Kakashi reminded him. "But yes, his main element is earth. Specifically, in his control of sand."

"Sand?" Sakura was a little overwhelmed by that. "I've never seen him manipulate sand."

"Well, you only fought him that once," Naruto said. "And he doesn't go all out when his opponent isn't using chakra. It's an honour code," he added defensively, when Sakura glowered at the reminder that Gaara had been toying with her.

"Honour my arse," she mumbled. She sighed. "How can my earth element help against Gaara?"

"It doesn't really," Kakashi said. "You can spend time learning lots of jutsu—" ("Jutsu?" She asked, and he ignored her.) "—but ultimately, since your main goal is to defeat Gaara, you'll have to take another route."

"Lightning is strong against earth, right?" Naruto asked.

"Good boy," Kakashi said, his eyes crinkling in good humour. "You're finally learning."

"Ah, shut up."

Kakashi chuckled. "Hm." He drawled, thinking. "Okay." He pushed Naruto toward Sakura. "I want you two to fight for a moment. Don't use your chakra, Naruto."

"Okay," the blond stumbled forward.

"What about me?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi smiled. She decided she quite liked that it crinkled his eyes like that. "Naruto's going to let you hit him—"

"What?!" Naruto interrupted. "She hits hard!"

"—and when you do," he said, ignoring the blond. "You're going to exert your chakra like you did with the Litmus Paper."

"This is going to hurt," Naruto whined.

"Don't worry about trying to hurt the poor baby," Kakashi said, laughing at Naruto's pout. "Just concentrate on expelling chakra. I need to see it; I have a hunch about something."

He lifted the patch that was covering his left eye and Sakura gasped at the swirl of red in it.

"Relax," he said. "And focus on the fight."

"I'm coming!" Naruto threw the first punch but missed.

Sakura was pleasantly surprised at how easily she dodged that. He was still faster, for now, but she felt a sense of pride at this accomplishment. His warning had helped, but she didn't care. She focused on doing as Kakashi had explained and forced chakra out of her body as she attacked Naruto—who was having trouble obeying the "let Sakura hit you" part of this fight.

After fifteen minutes of this, Kakashi ordered them to stop. Sakura was panting and Naruto was winded. She couldn't get the grin off her face. That was fun! Exhausting, but fun.

"Okay," Kakashi said. "I think I have you pegged. You're the genjutsu type."

"Genjutsu?"

"Simply put, they're illusion techniques."

Naruto frowned. "How can you tell?"

"Her Yin is strong," Kakashi said, but didn't elaborate other than to tap his left eye. "I think this might be how she can trick Gaara long enough to get under his ultimate defence."

Sakura frowned. "Ultimate defence?"

They both stared at her for a moment and she squirmed.

"Right." Naruto said. "You wouldn't know about that. But don't worry, Kakashi-sensei's on the case!"

Kakashi sighed.

He wasn't doing this for them, though he owed Naruto, and he was beginning to like this Sakura—and her spitfire attitude. No, he had a more personal motivation. He couldn't wait for this slight of a girl with the rare genjutsu potential to wipe that smug look off Gaara's obnoxious face.

…

XXX

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AN: I absolutely adore the Sakura/Naruto/Kakashi dynamic. Makes me so nostalgic. :)

R&R

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